Espoir
by crookedview
Summary: Post"Special". COMPLETE! SHOCKING ENDING! CC and a bit of JK. This story includes angst, amnesia, Danielle, threats, loooove and A Lot of Angry Men.
1. Finding Claire

The brush ahead continued to shake, the leaves quivering. Boone hadn't been mistaken. There was something behind it. "Vincent?" Boone whispered again, but with no conviction behind his voice. It was not a dog that was behind the bush. It was bigger. He thought fleetingly of the monster in his hallucination. Was it a hallucination? He wasn't so sure now. He chanced a quick look at Locke, who was brandishing his knife with a fearsome look on his face. Boone looked ahead of him again. The branch shook again, and this time, a figure stepped out from behind it.

It was so dark that he could not tell at all who this figure was. Slowly he held up the flashlight so that it shined straight ahead. He gasped, eyes open wide.

Locke stood straighter and the two stayed silent for a moment. Finally, Locke said,

"Claire?"

Claire spun around to face them and screamed, a beyond frightened cry. It seemed to reverberate off of every tree in the jungle and bounce back into Boone's ears. He flinched, fearing whatever else could be lurking nearby, though at the same time, so relieved to see Claire, unharmed… and not a polar bear.

Claire stumbled backward into the bush behind her and nearly fell over. "Who's that? Stay back!" she cried hoarsely, squinting into the light. She righted herself, and put out her arms, motioning Boone not to come any closer.

"Hey, it's okay!" Boone said gently. "It's just us." He lowered the flashlight so it wasn't blinding her. He grinned at her. "Glad to see you're okay!" he said jovially.

But Claire craned her neck slightly to look at them, untrusting and still very afraid. She kept her arms out in front of her, her palms out. She took a tentative step forward.

Boone walked towards her, aiming to help her up, but she immediately screamed again. He halted in his tracks, confused. "What?"

Locke spoke up this time, putting his knife back into his belt loop and attempting a coaxing manner. "It's all right. We're close to the edge of the forest. The camp's just about a quarter of a mile away. Come on, Claire, and we'll get you out of here."

Slowly she lowered her arms to dangle by her sides. Her eyes were wide now, her face an expression of mingled fear and curiosity. Boone began to feel uneasy. Why was she acting so strange? What had Ethan done?

"How do you know my name?" Claire asked, now crossing her arms across her chest protectively.

Boone nearly dropped the flashlight. She didn't recognize them at all! He looked to Locke for guidance, but Locke had his gaze fixed on Claire. He didn't look fazed in the least; in fact, he looked as if he'd expected this.

"Claire, we need to get out of the forest. We're just near the beach. If you let us lead you to it, I can help you, but you need to trust us."

There was no sound but the crickets chirping high in the trees. Claire looked like she was at a loss for what to do. Boone was dumbfounded. She didn't know them. She'd lost her memory. How? Would she retrieve it? They had thought her to be dead. She'd been gone for almost a week since the abduction. Now here she was, alive and physically unharmed, but without any recollection of… what? How far back did her memory go? Not knowing what to think, Boone simply stayed standing with a flashlight in his hand, waiting to see what Claire would do.

She finally, cautiously, stepped towards Locke, who had his hand outstretched, waiting for her to take it, but not forcing her. She reached out with a shaking hand, and took his. Locke gave her a small reassuring smile.

"Lead us on, Boone." He said softly.

It was almost an hour before they reached the beach, with a dazed and stumbling, still very pregnant Claire needing to be maneuvered around roots and trees in the dark. Claire immediately slumped down on the warm sand, exhausted, but clearly glad to be out of the forest. Boone sat down too, and looked up at the sky.

It was a clear night, and the stars shone brightly. The moon gave very little light; it was only a sliver. Its small amount of radiance glittered off the waves of the ocean. They made a soft hissing sound as they came back and forth across the shore.

Suddenly, light shone across their faces, and Boone turned to see that Locke had made a fire that was already brightly burning. Boone stood up, and helped the tired Claire to get closer to the flames. She sat numbly with her hands around her stomach. Her eyes were unseeing as they watched the fire.

Locke motioned Boone to come farther from the fire, out of Claire's earshot. Boone obliged. Once he was sure she couldn't hear him, Boone began questioning Locke.

"We're just around the corner from the camp. Why stop here?"

"She would be far too overwhelmed by all the people happy to see that she's alive. She needs to gather her strength and courage. Look at her." Locke said, gesturing in the direction of Claire. Boone turned and looked. She sat motionless, a perfect description of exhaustion. Her arm had a large purple welt just above the elbow. She had small scratches all over her face, and one deep one across her forehead. There were dark circles around her eyes, and her mouth was turned slightly downward. She looked as if she no longer cared what happened to her, she didn't care if these two men who she didn't recognize left or stayed to help her. She didn't care who they were or what they wanted. Boone realized all of this and anger welled up inside him.

"How did this happen?" he said angrily. "Why doesn't she remember us?"

"I don't know, Boone. But it's too convenient for her to just have suddenly lost her memory. There was something she's seen or done that somebody doesn't want her to tell anyone."

Boone started. "You mean Ethan? How…" he trailed off, staring again at Claire.

"Best wait to ask questions in the morning. We can watch over our camp in shifts. You can sleep now, and I'll wake you in a few hours." Locke amended, and sat down in the sand with his back facing the fire, staring avidly into the forest.

Boone appreciated the decision, as he suddenly felt as exhausted as Claire looked. He sat next to Claire, putting a hand lightly on her shoulder. She gasped and jumped, like she'd been thinking of a place far from here and just remembered where she was.

"You can go to sleep." Boone told her gently. "You're safe with us."

She looked at him dazedly for a moment, then nodded and lay down. She seemed to immediately fall asleep.

Boone turned over and wished that he could say the same. Tired as he was, he remained awake, watching the fire and thinking about the strange reappearance of Claire until it was time for his shift.


	2. Back to the Camp

Morning finally came, and Charlie was glad. It had been another long night full of restless wondering. When he had finally fallen asleep when the moon was high in the sky, Charlie dreamed of the abduction. There were images of the last things he saw before he was hung. Ethan, tying the rope around his neck, Charlie trying to get away. Hanging in a tree, gasping for breath, knowing he was dying. Seeing Claire tied up but safely on the ground gaping up at him with horror. Knowing she was in agony watching him. Then, nothing. Until he saw Jack above him, pounding his chest, finally being able to breath again.

Charlie sat up and looked about the cave. Everyone nearby was still asleep, probably having sweet dreams of being rescued or something, Charlie thought bitterly. Knowing it was useless to try to fall asleep, he got up, and made his way down to the beach to see if there was any fish, thinking about Claire and wondering if it was possible that she was thinking about him.

Claire was thinking about whether to run away while the two men were still asleep. She was trying to figure out where, if she ever decided, to go. Certainly not the forest again. That place was foreboding. She had heard whisperings in the dark all around her, though she was sure there was no one there. She had run around in circles in a panic, not knowing where she was or how she got there. Claire wondered if she was going crazy. The whisperings, these men who knew her name… and where exactly was she?

Finally, she decided to leave. The men had brought her out of the forest, but what would they do now? She didn't know anything about them, and somehow they knew about her… it scared her. She was better off without them.

She stood up with difficulty. The baby would come any day now; he said it would. She stopped in her tracks; her eyes open wide at her own thought. Who said the baby would come soon? How did she know that? A man told her… a doctor? She hadn't seen a doctor since about a week before she'd visited the psychic for the last time. More than ever, she wondered what was wrong with her. Frightened by her own self, she sat down again, and held her head in her hands, breathing deeply, trying to fend off the panic in her.

"Are you all right?" A voice said from behind her. She turned. It was the older man with the knife. He was smiling kindly at her. He stood over her with his hands in his pockets, waiting for her to reply.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She said untruthfully.

"I see our guard hasn't done his job very effectively." He said, pointing over at the other man, who was still sleeping soundly against a tree.

Claire smiled weakly.

He sat down beside her companionably. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

She looked at him, giving it thought. "No."

"What is that last thing you remember before Boone and I found you?"

She shuddered. "I was in the forest, trying to find the way out for hours and hours. Maybe it went on for miles, or maybe I was circling myself, I don't know. I heard… weird noises. Whispers, even though no one was there. At least I don't think anyone was there." She nervously twirled her hair around on her index finger. "Am I going crazy?" she blurted out.

The man picked up a stick that had been lying on the sand. He pulled out his knife and began whittling away at it. It was a moment before he answered.

"No, Claire. I think you're very sane."

She began to get angry. "And another thing. How do you know my name? Why do you know me?"

"You know me, too, Claire." He said, not looking up from his work. "But for whatever reason, your mind has blocked me out." He stopped whittling and looked straight at her. There was no lie in his eyes.

"You mean, like memory loss?" she asked, pressing him for answers.

He nodded. Just then, there was a loud "Shit!" from behind them. Who Claire figured was Boone had woken up, and realized that he shouldn't have been sleeping. He stumbled over to them, blinking in the already strong sun. "Sorry, Locke. Sorry." He apologized.

"So, why did… what happened to me?" Claire asked, ignoring the interruption.

Locke gazed at her thoughtfully. "What do you remember from before the forest?"

Claire sat back, trying to dig through the fog in her mind. "My friend took me to see a psychic, and he told me to take my baby to Los Angeles… I packed up my stuff… I went to the airport… I was on the plane…" she stopped, realizing that was as far as she could go. "Oh my God." She said softly. "Did the plane crash?"

He nodded slowly. "You don't remember anything from between last night and the plane?" She shook her head mournfully, tears coming to her eyes. "You don't remember the crash? Jack? Shannon? Kate?" To each name, she shook her head. "Charlie?" he asked hopefully.

"No." Claire said, despair in her voice. "How long? How long has it been?" She squeezed her eyes shut, tears falling onto the sand.

"Twenty six days." Locke said. Claire opened her eyes again.

"Twenty six." She repeated hollowly.

"A lot has happened since then." Locke said. "We need to go back to camp soon, but first we'll fill you in."

Shannon was lying on the beach, soaking up the sun as usual. But she couldn't concentrate on the magazine she was reading. Granted, she'd read it at least five times already, since there were only a few to be found in the wreckage… but she was too worried about Boone. He hadn't come home again last night. This was the second time he had stayed out in the forest with that creepy guy Locke, and regardless of what people might say about Locke being safe, he seemed pretty crazy to Shannon. And ever since Boone had been spending every minute with him, he had been acting weirdly… almost as if he didn't care about her anymore.

Annoyed, she tried not to think about it any more. She sat up and scanned the beach. A ways down, the Korean guy was fishing and – she squinted to see so far – maybe Charlie was standing next to him. That was a weird pair. Charlie was probably just lonely, though. Ever since Claire disappeared… she sighed aloud and lay back down on her towel.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. She turned her head to watch. Far off was a small group of people... three or four. Boone and Locke, probably, but who was with them? Shannon sat up again, interested. She watched them come closer and closer. Definitely Boone and Locke… and someone in between them, with blonde hair… a woman… suddenly Shannon stood up, and ran to greet them. "Boone!" she screamed down the beach as she ran. "Hey, Boone!"

As she closed in on them, she realized she had been right. The blond woman _was_ Claire. She stopped in front of them, out of breath. "Claire!" she gasped, smiling. She looked at Boone. "You guys found her!"

"Thanks, I know." he said as they continued walking. Shannon halted, hurt by the cold tone in his voice. She tried to shrug it off, and fell into step beside him. "So," she said, towards Claire, "Where were you all week?"

"I don't know." Claire said hopelessly.

"Yeah…" Shannon continued, missing the sadness in Claire's tone, "The jungle's so big, I guess I'd be pretty lost too. But what happened? Charlie said something about that guy Ethan, and - "

"Shannon?" Boone said icily, "Can you go do something useful and get Jack?"

She frowned at him. She angrily opened her mouth, ready to retort, but found she had nothing to say. She closed it, feeling stupid, and left them, stomping up the trail to the caves.

Claire watched her leave, wondering if she had once been friends with her. She felt very strange; meeting these people for the first time, knowing it wasn't really the first time.

"Can we pick up the pace?" Locke said. "I think it would be in Charlie's best interest if he didn't see you now. He's at the end of the beach."

Instead of walking faster, Claire tried to see Charlie. "Where?"

But Locke steered her gently up the path before he said another word. When they were safely from view of anyone on the beach, Claire asked, "Charlie's the guy I got kidnapped with?"

They nodded.

"And… why couldn't he see me just now?"

Locke smiled slowly, still looking ahead up the path. "He cares a lot about you. I think someone should tell him what happened before he talks to you." He said simply.

Claire continued to walk laboriously up the path, thinking of Charlie. She wondered if she had cared a lot about him too, whatever that meant.


	3. Jack talks to Claire

**Chapter 3**

Jack was briskly following the path, amazed that Claire had been found. Nearly everyone had figured that by now, Claire was not coming back. Now she had made a miraculous appearance, and Shannon said she seemed all right. This made him feel very much at ease, he had been worried and not at all hopeful about the fate of Claire and her baby.

He saw Locke, Boone and Claire coming up the path. He immediately looked her over. She looked tired, very tired, and lost in thought. She was sweaty from a long walk in the heat. She had cuts on her face, most of them shallow, and dark circles around her eyes. He had expected much worse.

"Hey, Claire!" he said, smiling at her. "How're you doing?"

She looked up, his presence unnoticed until he spoke. "I'm fine." She said quietly. She seemed to be searching his face for something. It puzzled him, but he tried to forget it. "Your baby okay?"

"Yeah. I think so." She said, looking down at her stomach.

The four of them sat down in the middle of the path, Claire leaning against a tree. She closed her eyes, and folded her hands across her stomach. Jack watched her for a second, then took the medicine bag he'd been holding in his hand and put it on the ground. He unzipped it, and pulled out a tube of anti-bacterial cream for the large cut across her forehead. As he leaned over her to apply it, she opened her eyes again.

"What are you doing?" she said, alarmed, trying to scramble away from him.

He looked at her strangely. "It's just so your cut won't get infected."

He glanced at Locke, who said, "I think before you examine her, we need to talk first."

Claire settled back, looking slightly embarrassed at her reaction. "You're a doctor?" she asked.

Jack realized then what the problem with Claire was. He sat back and nodded, trying not to look visibly disappointed that she wasn't as well as she looked. Poor Claire.

"We found Claire in the forest last night. She'd been wandering around for hours, trying to get out. That's all she remembers since before the plane crash." Locke told him.

Jack looked back at Claire, who seemed like she was thinking very hard. "But you remember everything before the crash? Your name, your childhood, where you lived?"

"Yes. Yes." Claire said impatiently. "But… you're a doctor."

He nodded.

"And you've… checked on my baby before?" she continued, furrowing her brow.

He nodded again, wondering why this was such a hard concept to grasp.

"Before… I was kidnapped… did you tell me my baby would be born any day now?"

Jack leaned forward eagerly. "You remember that?"

Claire looked down at her hands nervously. "I think I do."

He smiled reassuringly at her. "Well, then, that's a good sign!" He stood up, and Boone and Locke did the same. Boone carefully helped Claire up.

"You know what you need the most?" Jack said kindly to her. "I bet you'd really appreciate a good meal."

She smiled shyly and nodded.

"The caves are right nearby. It's not a long walk at all. After you eat, I'll check on your baby." Jack told her, leading the way up the path, and wondering if they would ever find out why Ethan abducted Claire.

A/N Sorry this chapter's a bit on the short side... I'm halfway through Chapter 4 though... : D


	4. An Awkward Reunion

A/N Thanks for all your reviews! Evermore - Yeah, I found a title! "Espoir" means "to hope" in French. ronandhermionealltheway - Haha first of all, I love your username. And how do you know this chapter has Charlie and Claire meeting? I could drag my story out and make it Chapter 10... just kidding.

Charlie was on his way back to the caves when he was stopped by Kate.

"Ah, Charlie? I was looking for you. Can we talk?" she asked.

Was it just him, or did she look kind of nervous? He wondered what she had to talk to him about. Whatever it was, it sounded serious.

"Sure. Yeah, sure." He said, sitting down on a log.

After a moment, she sat down next to him. She seemed to be gathering her bearings. She looked off, not at Charlie, but a few inches to the left of his shoulder. He turned to see what she was looking at, but there was nothing there.

"Kate?" he prompted.

"Huh?" She jerked back, realizing that he was waiting.

"This isn't good news, is it?" he said seriously.

"Oh. Well, I guess not, but kind of." She answered. She shook her head at herself. "I mean, well…" she stopped again and took a deep breath. "Okay. Boone and Locke found Claire last night."

Charlie felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. She was dead. They found her body when they were hunting boar. Ethan killed her. His hands curled into fists, wishing he could find Ethan and give him what he deserved. He looked up at Kate, who seemed frightened by his expression.

"Oh! She's alive, Charlie!" she told him hurriedly. "It's just… well, she's all right except… she doesn't remember any of us. She's lost her memory from the plane crash to last night." Kate finally blurted out. "I'm sorry, Charlie, I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't know how to say it…"

"But she's okay?" Charlie interrupted, swiftly getting to his feet.

Kate nodded. "She's in the caves." She said softly.

With that, Charlie left, running up the path. He tried to figure out how he felt as he quickly followed the dirt path. It was hard to categorize; he felt a number of different emotions at the same time. He was happy that Claire was back, relieved she was physically unharmed, and yet at the same time, he was very disappointed. Just when he had been figuring things out, and becoming her friend, and giving up drugs… and now she was back. Charlie had played out her return in his mind these past few days, and while he hadn't expected her safe arrival at the camps, he certainly hadn't expected this either. In sight of the caves, he took a deep breath and entered the dim, cool entryway.

Claire was finally comfortable, for the first time she could remember in a long time, she thought wryly to herself. She was lying on a cot in the cave, a thin blanket over her. Her eyelids were drooping, though she knew she had only been awake for a few hours. She began to fall asleep, knowing she was protected by Locke and Jack, who were just a few feet away. Then she heard voices arguing, and her name, and she willed herself to open her eyes.

"No, she's sleeping." Came Jack's firm voice.

"Just a minute." Someone with an English accent said angrily. "You hide her from me on purpose, and wait bloody _hours _to tell me, and now I can't even see her?"

"Claire's only just arrived maybe one hour ago. And she's exhausted – Charlie, what good will it do? She doesn't remember us!"

_Charlie. _Claire was very interested in this Charlie she kept hearing about. With great effort, she sat up, and called out, "I'm awake."

There was a silence from the mouth of the cave, then a man walked in. She looked at him closely. He was on the short side with blonde hair. He had pieces of masking tape around each finger of his left hand. Each piece had a letter on it, but she couldn't read what they said. He was smiling, genuinely smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back at this stranger who she used to know. He stood in front of her, then, seemingly on an impulse, leaned forward and gave her an awkward hug.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I'm glad you're back." He said quietly.

She nodded, and they both looked shyly at each other. Claire felt like she was on a first date with someone that she had been set up with by a friend. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry I don't remember anything…" she said, suddenly feeling almost guilty for something she knew she couldn't help.

Charlie forced a grin. "Hey, it's not exactly your fault." He said, echoing her thoughts. "How are you otherwise?"

"I'm fine." She said for what seemed like the millionth time that day. But she knew that every time she said she was fine, she was telling a huge lie. She was definitely not okay, less okay than she probably ever had been in her life. Her boyfriend had left her. Her plane had crashed. Her baby was due and was going to be born in the middle of nowhere and she couldn't even remember the people who obviously cared and worried about her. With that thought, Claire began to cry.

Charlie immediately sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "Hey, it's okay. It's all right."

"No, it's not. I can't remember anything I'm supposed to. I _want _to remember you, I thought maybe I _would_ recognize you. Everyone said we were friends, I thought…" she tried to choke back her sobs, but she couldn't stop.

"Hey. Claire." Charlie said, pulling her back arm-length so she would look at him. "You're going to get your memory back. It just might take some time. Jack said memory loss was a way of dealing with shock or some doctory crap like that. Meanwhile, let's start over." He put out his hand for her to shake. "Hi, I'm Charlie Pace, ex-rocker, fantastic base player, and the only Brit on the island."

She wiped her face and shook his hand. "Claire Littleton, loving mother-to-be, and coincidentally the only Aussie on the island."

He looked at her for a moment, surprised.

"Locke told me." She said quickly.

"Of course." Charlie answered, but she knew he was covering up.


	5. Risky Business

Sayid came back to the camp in the late afternoon most days this week. He had been trying to find Danielle again. He knew it was dangerous and nearly impossible, since she didn't want to be found, but he knew he had to try, at least for a few days. Though some people thought he was just wasting time, he had seen Danielle talk about the others. He had to learn more about them; what they were doing here, why they've stayed hidden, and if he was incredibly fortunate, maybe even find out where they were. He knew that Danielle had this information, and he needed it, for Claire and Charlie, for the rest of the survivors, but more selfishly, for himself. He had to know the secrets of the island. The mystery of the place had been driving him insane. Locke knew things that he wouldn't tell. Sayid had tried talking to him, tried making him reveal… whatever he was hiding. It hadn't worked.

The sun was going down, weak rays of light were painted on the trees and leaves. When he reached the caves, people were already setting up a fire. Normally, he would have helped, but he had to talk to Jack. He came in through the cave opening. Claire was sitting on the floor, cross-legged and reading a book.

"Hello, Claire." He said, distractedly, scanning the cave.

"Hi… I'm sorry… Sayid?" She said, looking up from her book.

"Yes. Have you seen Jack, by any chance?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, he's just over there." She pointed to the corner of the cave, to where Jack was crouching and talking to Hurley.

"Thank you." He said over his shoulder to Claire.

"I've picked up her trail. I could have confronted her today, but I decided to wait and talk first to you about it." Sayid looked at him seriously. Jack nodded for him to go on. "She's changed locations. It's obvious that she does not want to be found, and I told her I would respect that. But now, we need to know everything we can about the others. We want to be safe; we can't let this happen again. We need to know who Ethan is, and why he abducted Claire and Charlie. How many of them are there? Where do they live, why are they here? Why are we their enemies? If they are going to attack us, we need to be prepared, and we need to put an end to it." Sayid finished, with an intent expression on his face.

Jack nodded again, but didn't say anything. It was true they needed to know all they could about the others. But he was worried about what would happen when they did. He wondered if they meant to kill all of them. Even Danielle was dangerous. There was no telling what she would do when Sayid found her again. He knew, though, that Sayid was willing to take any risks necessary for a cause he found worthy. Finally, Jack said,

"I thought you said she hadn't ever seen them."

"She hasn't, but…" Sayid hesitated. "Jack. She knows more about the others than we could ever find out on our own. She's been here sixteen years. And she knows more than she said to me, I'm positive."

Jack thought about this for a long while before he said anything. Staring into the flames of the fire, he wondered what the consequences were if Sayid spoke to Danielle again. Then he wondered what they were if they just ignored the threat of the others. It was impossible to tell which was worse.

"Okay, Sayid. Okay. We need to know."

"So, yes, then?"

"Go find Danielle."


	6. A Friend to Confide In

**Chapter 6**

Charlie had been spending a lot of time with Claire since she had reappeared. They sat side by side in the caves, which were the most comfortable for Claire, since they were cool and shaded. At first they talked about nothing important, he didn't really remember what they said. After a while, they would start having deep conversations.

"You know what's the hardest thing about being here and being pregnant?" Claire said one evening. "It's not that I don't have any support, I've got a lot of that – from everybody. It's that I don't know when my baby will finally be safe." She let out her breath slowly in a kind of sigh. "I mean, five years from now… will we still be here? Will we ever get home?" She had her face upturned, her head leaning against the rock wall. Her eyes were glassy.

Charlie didn't know what to say, so he took her hand in his and they sat in silence. Finally he said, "It must be hardest for you. Seems like everyone here has nothing to go back to, but you do."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Like who?"

"Like everyone." Charlie said knowingly. Then he dropped his voice. "Michael and his kid hate each other. Kate's supposed to go to jail or something, Sawyer too, probably. Locke… he's just a weird guy who works at a box company."

"What about you?" she asked sadly. She wasn't prying, Charlie knew, she was just genuinely sad for him.

"Me?" he questioned, looking away. "There's nothing really to say about me. I'm an ex-druggie, an ex-rocker, I left Sydney and got on this bloody plane because I got in a fight with my brother…" he shrugged, and turned back to her.

"I think there's a lot to say about you." Claire said softly, so quiet he barely heard her. "Good things." She added.

They didn't say anything else for a long time. The sun had gone down completely, and the only light in the cave were the dim flickers from the fire outside. Charlie suddenly reached into his pocket. "Oh! I keep on forgetting to give this to you…" he pulled out a small black book.

"My diary!" Claire exclaimed, taking it and flipping through it. She grinned at him. "Thanks, Charlie, I thought it had been lost in the wreckage."

"Maybe it'll help you remember things." He told her.

'Yeah… did you read it?" Claire asked suddenly. He was dumbfounded. He could feel his face turning red._ Shit._ He thought, knowing he couldn't lie to her.

"I, uh… Yes." He said hurriedly. "But only because I thought, somehow… I thought that maybe it would help me find out where you were. I know it sounds crazy, but I really thought…"

"It does sound crazy," she said, looking more thoughtful than angry.

He watched her cautiously. Was it possible she wouldn't be flaming mad at him?

She bit her lip, looking intently back at him.

"You have a right to be pissed at me." Charlie blurted.

"I know I do." She answered promptly. "But for some reason I'm not. I think partly because I like you so much…" This time, she blushed a little at her forwardness, but she went on quickly. "and I think partly because they're not really my private thoughts if I can't even remember writing them or feeling them." She paused. "Thanks for telling me that instead of lying." She added.

"Do you want me to leave?" Charlie asked slowly, as she opened her diary and began scanning the pages again.

"Nah. Stay with me." She said. Charlie smiled to himself, glad she wasn't looking at him.

Kate watched them sit and talk for hours, never leaving, never looking bored… she was jealous. Not of Claire, not at all. She liked Charlie a lot, but not in a romantic way, and besides, she was happy that Claire had such a good friend to dump out her emotions about losing her memory and everything. It was the fact that they were so companionable and easy-going about each other. She didn't know if they were in love, maybe they didn't know either. But they had a confidante in each other, and at least a chance at something really special.

Kate looked around and spotted Jack. As she watched him help with the fire, or laugh with Michael, her heart ached. Why did she have to go crazy over the case she found? Why did she have to steal the key, why did she have to lie to him? And then, to top it off, the breakdown she had right in front of him when they finally opened the case, when she finally got that stupid, stupid toy airplane. It was all in the past, and by dwelling on it, she'd ruined the future. Any future, any chance that she could have had with Jack was gone.

Oh, he didn't hate her, she knew that. But since her breakdown, he… Kate let out a barely audible sigh as she thought about it. He talked to her, but not about anything important. His conversations were polite and inquiring. That was all. He didn't trust her anymore. Maybe he never had.

Kate looked back at Charlie and Claire. Claire was reading her diary with a mildly surprised expression. Charlie was staring at the fire, with a small, slight smile on his face. They both looked so comfortable and… together.

She wiped at her eyes as inconspicuously as she could, got up and headed back for the beach.


	7. A Strange Visit

Hurley was by the water, wringing out one of his shirts. He scanned the horizon aimlessly. Suddenly he began waving his arms excitedly, shouting, "Hey look!" He pointed out into the ocean. "Look!" Shannon stood up eagerly, now looking at the ocean too. "Is it a boat? Where?" she shouted back. She continued searching, but saw nothing except waves and sky. She looked at Hurley, who was laughing at her, bent over with his hands on his knees. His deep laugh irritated her to no end.

"Damn it!" Shannon screamed at him, turning red. "If you do that one more time, I'm going to kick your…" but she stormed away, not bothering to finish her sentence, furious that she'd fallen for Hurley's stupid joke for the second time that week.

Sayid clothes were soaked through with rainwater. It was just past dawn, and still dim in the forest. It had rained last night, a rare occurrence on the island. The Trees and bushes were still dripping. Dripping onto him. His clothes were soaked through, and since it was still early morning, it wasn't sweltering hot yet. Sayid shivered. He wondered if it was the first time that he'd ever been cold on this tropical island.

He knew he was close, very close to the hole in the ground that was Danielle's home. He stopped in front of a huge tree stump. This was where he had turned back yesterday. He was only five minutes or so from Danielle. He decided that it would be wise to hide the long, sharp knife that Locke had given him just in case… he put it in his belt loop like he would if it were a sword in a sheath, and made sure his shirt covered it. Determined, he struggled on through the dense foliage.

He stopped a couple of minutes later; his foot had been tangled in a vine. He bent down to free it, and didn't notice the figure in front of him until she said in a bonechillingly calm voice, "Ah, Sayid. Breaking promises, are we?"

He stood up, facing what he knew he would see; a fierce, angry looking Danielle.

"Danielle, I – "

"You listen to me! Listen!" Danielle screamed at him, so close to his face that he fought the impulse to step backwards. "I told you to leave, I told you to leave me alone! I want to be alone, I never wanted to see you again!" She spat her angry words at Sayid as loudly as she could. Then she jerkily spun around and headed away from him towards her home. "Follow me." She snarled ungraciously.

Sayid watched her climb down into her underground cave. He knew it was unwise to follow her into her home where there was no escape except the single traplike door. He also knew that if she had wanted, she could easily have killed him already with the gun that was attached to her belt loop. After only a moment's hesitation, he climbed down into the cave.

She was already sitting at her table and looking expectantly at him. He stood before her, waiting for her to speak. Finally, she said, "Well? Why are you here?"

Sayid sat down, knowing she would never ask him to. "Do you know Ethan Rom?"

Danielle made no effort to say anything, but she looked startled at the mention of Ethan's name. Gravely, looking off to the side, Danielle nodded slightly.

"How?"

She cleared her throat, still looking aimlessly around the room.

"Danielle, Ethan kidnapped two of our group. We don't know how or why. They're safe now; somehow they both got back alive, but they don't remember any useful information. We don't know where Ethan is, or what he'll do next… won't you help us?"

Danielle finally looked him in the eye. She had a defiant glare. "Why should I help you? I'm not a part of your group. None of your people are important to me."

"Just tell me what you know about Ethan and the others. Please, we need your help."

Just when Sayid thought she was going to pull out a weapon and smash him in the face, she instead collapsed onto the table and sobbed. Her flyaway hair was spread out around her, hiding her face. Her cries were noisy and agonized.

Sayid was never good at comforting. He waited for her to stop grimly.

Still covered by her hair, she said in a muffled voice, "I don't want to tell you anything."

Sayid clenched his fists underneath the table. "You're acting like a child." He said coldly. He had wondered if living alone for so long had affected Danielle's sanity. Now there was no doubt in his mind.

She slowly sat up and wiped her face. Staring at him intensely, she whispered, "Ethan… Ethan is…" but then she stopped, as if she realized that she had been about to tell a secret that wasn't supposed to be told. She bit her lip. She stood up and turned her back to him, rummaging for something on a shelf on the wall. "Come back tomorrow." She said briskly. "I'll tell you tomorrow."

Sayid stood up as well. "Danielle…"

She spun around. "You. Come back tomorrow alone and I will tell you what I know about Ethan." Then she firmly nodded to herself, and went back to looking for something on the shelf.

Sayid watched her for a moment, and then seeing that staying longer would be useless, soundlessly climbed up through the trap door and left.


	8. Two Confrontations

Claire was hiding. She was behind a huge tree trunk some ways into the forest, and she was sobbing her heart out. She tried to muffle her cries with her hand, but she knew that if anyone came within a hundred feet of her, they would hear and come to see what was wrong.

Claire knew there was nothing she could do about it, but she felt like a failure to everyone on the island, especially Charlie. It had been five days since she had returned, and she'd only had faint glimmers of what she wondered _might _be memories from before she was kidnapped. And the baby should have been born already, and Claire was getting worried. Between the awkwardness of all the other islanders towards her, her baby taking its time, and her feeling of obligation to _remember _everything towards Charlie, Claire was devastated. She slumped down on the forest floor, exhausted and out of tears to cry. Her eyelids felt heavy, her arms too weighted down to lift up. She didn't even realize it when she fell asleep.

Jack knew something had happened when Sayid came back from the depths of the forest that afternoon. He looked tired, aggravated, but under his frown of concentration, Sayid looked triumphant. Jack hurried over to him, with a searching glance.

"Well?" he said softly, aware of those that hadn't been told about Sayid's mission and their curious looks in their direction.

Sayid continued to walk towards the cave. "She wouldn't tell me anything." He said in a hushed tone. "I found her easily, still early in the morning. She took me into her home and I told her what had happened. She began to cry after I insisted that she help us. She's clearly mentally unstable and I don't think she knows about Ethan."

"You seemed so sure of it before." Jack said, trying to keep suspicion out of his voice. Sayid wasn't one to lie, was he?

"Yes, but –"

"What made you change your mind?"

Sayid began to look annoyed. "Her attitude. It was afraid, confused. It seemed to me that she looked overwhelmed, like this was just one more to add to the list of things to fear."

Jack stared him down, but Sayid didn't blink.

"Am I interrupting something?" Someone drawled loudly. Sawyer entered the shadowed cave, grinning.

"Yes. " Jack and Sayid both said together.

"I apologize." He said in a mock-shamed voice, and stubbornly sat down on the wooden bench Michael had made. It was positioned right in front of Jack and Sayid. He sat there smiling like a naughty child until Jack stormed out of the cave without a word.

Charlie had to pee. He went far into the forest, and was passing by a huge tree when he thought he saw something move. He panicked. He had no weapons with him, nothing to defend himself with. He looked around for a big stick. Then he realized the thing he saw moving was Claire. Sheepishly, he approached her, and was glad to see that she was asleep. He watched her sleeping figure. It alarmed him to see that she'd been crying. There were still tears on her cheeks and her face was blotchy and red. He gently prodded her shoulder.

She blearily opened her eyes. Startled, she jumped, sitting up straight. "Oh. Charlie." She said quietly, an almost apologetic look on her face.

"What are you doing, sleeping all the way out here? Sacrificing yourself to the polar bear gods?" Charlie asked not unkindly, helping her up.

"I fell asleep… I didn't mean to." Claire said distractedly.

Charlie paused, looking as if he wondered if he should say the next thing. "Why have you been crying?"

"I wasn't…" Claire brushed her hands over her face. It was wet from her tears. _Shit._ They stopped walking, Charlie looking concernedly at her, Claire looking down on the ground.

"Charlie…" Claire said softly, with a small tremble in her voice. "I've been so lost these past few days. I feel like I'll never be able to catch up to my own emotions. I've been worried, frustrated… and… really happy. What I'm trying to say is…" she finally looked up at him, her eyes now clear and bright, a faint smile on her face.

And she kissed him.


	9. Preparations

A/N Gah! If any of you have read the teaser paragraph on TvTome, you'll know why I'm frustrated. It seems every chapter I write, the next episode is _somewhat _like it. I guess it's good, it means I'm staying realistic... but... still...

Sayid had made up his mind. He knew Jack wouldn't approve of his returning to Danielle, so he had lied. But he had every intention of going, and he wasn't going alone. Danielle needed to feel threatened if she was going to say anything. She would only speak if she were backed into a corner like a rat. He knew this. He knew with an odd sort of excitement that she _would_ tell him what she knew about Ethan and the others. He was sure she would crack under pressure. But who should accompany him? He sat lost in thought, wondering how to approach this problem. If he asked the wrong person, they might tell Jack… might tell anyone who would advise him not to visit Danielle. _She's dangerous._ They'd say. _She's insane._ She is insane, Sayid knew, but not dangerous. She was too fragile, too weak to do any harm.

"Sawyer." Sayid called, seeing him leaning against the outer layer of rock that formed a cave. He was gazing at a single piece of paper. It seemed to Sayid that he wasn't really reading it, just looking at it, as if he'd read it so many times that it was pointless to actually focus on the words. Sawyer looked up, and ambled over to him, stowing the piece of paper away in his shirt pocket.

Without waiting for Sawyer to say anything, Sayid began. "Are you interested in a mission to Danielle's?"

Sawyer stayed standing, looming over Sayid with a doubtful expression. "Mission to Danielle's?" he repeated.

"The French woman's home." Sayid prompted. Continuing without a response, he said, "I want to get information about Ethan. I know Danielle has that information, but she will not speak unless she must. If she feels threatened by us, she will tell us all we need to know. I need you to accompany me and a couple of others to her home."

"What's in it for me?" Sawyer said immediately.

Sayid had expected this line from Sawyer. "I found two packs of cigarettes yesterday in the sand."

Sawyer frowned. "Those are mine."

Sayid smiled politely. "But they are in my possession."

Sawyer looked like he was trying very hard not to throw a punch. Finally he relaxed. "All right. I've been looking for a little adventure anyway."

He began to walk away.

"Sawyer."

He stopped and looked at Sayid expectantly.

"No mention of this to Jack."

"That's going to cost you extra."

Charlie was getting water from the lake when he heard Sayid talking in a hushed tone to Boone.

"So why do I have to come?" Boone asked.

"Because Danielle wouldn't speak to me alone, she wasn't threatened by one person with one knife. If three or four of us go to her house and scare her enough, she'll tell us all we need to know about Ethan."

Charlie bristled at the name of Ethan. Without hesitation, he came into view of Sayid and Boone. "I'm coming." He told them stoically. Sayid looked mildly surprised. He smiled grimly at Charlie. "Your attendance is welcomed." He said formally.

That night, Claire was in Charlie's arms with her eyes closed. The light of the fire danced on her closed eyelids. She was sleepy and peaceful, yet she was becoming aware that something was wrong. Charlie had been quiet through the afternoon, and he was all tense. He wasn't angry, Claire reflected. He was… brooding, distracted.

"What are you thinking about?" Claire asked softly. "You've been quiet."

"Hm? Nothing. Just tired I guess."

Claire sat up and faced him. "Charlie Pace, what are you thinking about?" she said commandingly.

Charlie quailed under her suddenly alert and challenging look. "All right, all right. Er… Okay. Sayid is going to find out what the French lady knows about Ethan tomorrow. And… I'm going with him."

"Why?'

"Moral support, kind of. It's more of a precaution, really. He says we have to back her into a corner until she cracks or something."

"And you weren't going to tell me?" Claire said, getting angry.

"Yes, I was, I was just looking for the opportune moment." He said carefully.

"The opportune moment." Claire scoffed, her eyes glittering. "That's bull. You were just going to leave, just leave me here without any explanation. Weren't you?"

"No, I wasn't!" Charlie said defensively. "I was going to tell you before I left!"

But Claire wouldn't hear any of it. "That's bull! You're lying to me again! This is lie number two, Charlie, and I'm getting sick of it all." She stood up with difficulty, hands on her stomach, and left.


	10. More Risky Business

**Chapter 10**

A/N Charlie and Claire… I give you fair warning… if you thought the end of last chapter was suspenseful, you're going to kill me at the end of this one.

Charlie was quietly woken by Sayid the next morning. _If you could call it morning, it's still bloody pitch black out_, Charlie thought moodily. As they left the sleeping group, Charlie looked around for Claire. She was nowhere to be seen. He felt a pang of sadness that he was leaving her without making up. He frowned in concentration. But it wasn't fair that she got so angry. He really _was _going to tell Claire about the mission. He wouldn't blow her off and leave her wondering, he cared too much about her. What kind of a guy did she think he was? Granted, he had read her diary, and it was a scummy thing to do, but he'd _never_ lied about it. He'd told her outright that he'd read it. So why was she so pissed? As Sayid, Boone, Sawyer and Charlie began making their way through the underbrush, trying not to make the slightest noise, Charlie looked back once more at the group wistfully.

A couple of hours later, the sun had finally risen, though the forest was still shadowy and dim. Sayid stopped and pulled out the messenger bag he had been carrying. Charlie peered towards it, hoping it had food, but instead, Sayid took four sharp knives and handed one to each of them.

"What, no machine guns?" Sawyer said, amused. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves with these puny little bread knives?"

"These 'bread knives' could easily hack off your head, so I'd be careful." Sayid said menacingly.

"Oooooh." Sawyer said, mock afraid, holding up his hands protectively, but Charlie noticed he let it go. Very un-Sawyer.

"So," Boone said, looking ready to sit and lounge in a beach chair, "How much longer, exactly, until we get there?"

Sayid didn't answer, he just abruptly stopped walking. Slowly, he pointed in front of him. "Beyond that cluster of trees is Danielle's home. Now, listen. She is very unpredictable. I don't know how she will react. I will go first, and tell her that I've brought you along, and if she doesn't tell us what we need to know…"

"We'll hack off her head." Sawyer interrupted, amused.

"This is no laughing matter." Sayid said seriously. "Now, I'll come back for you when I'm ready. Wait here." And he strode forward without a backwards glance.

When Kate woke up, the first thing she did every morning was look up at the sky and gage what time it was. (She had lost her watch a couple of weeks ago.) This morning, the sun was still low in the sky; it was about six or six-thirty. She sat up and looked around. There was only one other person already awake: Claire. She looked as if she were about to cry, her eyebrows were knit together and she was biting her lip. Kate soundlessly got up and sat next to her.

"Hey, what's up?" she said softly.

Claire looked at her mournfully. "Charlie and I got in a fight yesterday. Or, rather, I got pissed at him. I feel guilty, but I still feel like it's his fault. I don't know how I can be feeling those two things at the same time."

Kate looked off into the trees. "Have you talked to him since?"

Claire shook her head, but she looked like she was holding back. Kate ignored it. It wasn't her business to know what went on between Claire and Charlie, so she wasn't going to ask.

Kate hesitated before saying anything else. Finally, she whispered, "I haven't talked to Jack." She sighed quietly. "Jack and I… haven't talked about anything… anything important in what seems like forever. It's not like he's giving me the silent treatment or something like that… it's more like he's reserved towards me. He doesn't trust me. Not after I –" she caught herself, looking sideways at Claire, who didn't say anything. "I just… I kind of betrayed him. And…" she kept on halting, searching for her words. "I'd give anything to take back what I did." She choked on her words, and tried not to show her emotion to Claire.

Claire nodded, and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry." The she gasped. "Oh my God!" she cried loudly, bending over, panic on her face.

Kate jumped up, alarmed. "What? What is it?"

"I think my water just broke!"

It had been over a half hour, and they were tired of waiting. Boone was leaning against a tree looking slightly anxious. Sawyer didn't give a damn about the whole thing. He didn't even really know why he came along, just for something to do, he guessed. He looked aimlessly at Charlie, who was glaring at a tree as if it had insulted his mother. Sawyer chuckled softly. Charlie looked at him.

"What's so funny?" he said grumpily.

"Why are we still standing here?" Sawyer said, throwing his arms up. "I'm hungry and tired, and I want to get this thing over with. What the hell's that terrorist doing with that French woman, is what I'd like to know. I think he might have the hots for her." He began walking in the direction Sayid had gone.

"What are you doing?" Boone said, getting up. "He said to wait for him to come back!" But Sawyer just turned and looked at him with a wide, mischievous grin, then kept walking. He heard Charlie call after him. "Hey, he said she was dangerous!" and he ignored that too. _Dangerous, my ass._

When he stopped in front of a trapdoor that he assumed led to the French woman's house… hole… whatever, he noticed that Charlie and Boone were reluctantly following. "Look who's the leader now." He mused under his breath. Then he lifted up the trapdoor. He peered in, and was startled to see a bewildered woman looking straight back. Her expression quickly turned from confused to incredibly angry. She lunged up through the door, and screamed, "I said to come alone! I _said_ to come alone!" Sayid was just as quickly out of the door, trying to grab at her and pull her back from Sawyer, who stumbled backwards in surprise.

"Danielle! Stop, listen to me!" Sayid shouted. But Danielle looked wildly about, still screaming at the newcomers, now in French. Sawyer had never seen someone so mad. Her face was red, her eyes glittering with malice. Her flyaway hair added to the "crazy" impression. _She looks like a demon. _Sawyer thought.

Sawyer watched her with fascination, as Sayid grabbed her elbows forcefully. He watched her flailing about, trying to hit Sayid, and managing to pull away. He watched her, seemingly in slow motion, reach down into the pocket of her khakis, raise a shiny black pistol, and pull the trigger. Then he watched Charlie double over and soundlessly fall to the ground.


	11. Fearful Thoughts

A/N I am so sorry for the wait on such a suspenseful chapter! I had two theater performances this week and no time to write, much as I wanted to. Thanks to all the new reviewers!

Silence. They all just looked, horrified at Charlie's unmoving figure on the ground. Then Boone knelt down beside him and gently turned Charlie over on his back as Danielle let out a low moan. Slowly, her voice escalated into a loud wail. She, too, dropped to her knees, the deadly pistol falling from her hand. She covered her face with her arms and sobbed. "I killed him, I killed him."

Boone looked nervously at Charlie. He was unconscious; his eyes closed, his face ashen. He looked pretty dead. Boone looked down at Charlie's chest, and felt sick. Near his stomach, a dark red stain was beginning to form. Boone was suddenly shoved to the side.

"Out of the way, idiot." Sawyer said roughly, immediately lifting Charlie's limp hand and trying to find a pulse. Boone watched Sawyer with surprise. He wasn't looking so good, either. He was pale, drawn and… he looked scared. Sawyer raised his head with a small grim smile. "He's alive." He announced quietly.

"What do we do…" Boone looked anxiously around for options. Would Danielle help them? Did she even have medical supplies? It was much too far to carry Charlie back to camp. Then, he noticed, "Where's Sayid?"

Over the cries of the still sobbing Danielle, he could now hear a dull _thunk_ every couple of seconds. It was coming from below. Hurriedly, he got to his feet and went down into the cave. It took a moment for him to adjust to the dim light, but he saw papers and maps littered across the room as if someone had thrown them without a care, and he saw Sayid with a huge ax, chopping away at the legs of a table.

"What the hell are you doing?" Boone said incredulously, thinking Sayid must have gone insane.

Not pausing at his work, he answered, "This will be our stretcher. We'll carry Charlie back to camp. He has no hope of surviving unless the doctor gets the bullet out. Go back up. Put something on the wound and press. He can't lose much blood."

_Okay. Maybe not insane. _Boone thought before he went back up.

Ten minutes later, Charlie had been lowered onto the top of the table. Boone was anxious to leave. There was no telling how long it would take to get back to camp, but Sayid was still talking in hushed tones to Danielle, who had calmed down enough for her to be spoken to. Sawyer, that dumbass, was nowhere to be found. Boone looked around him again. Where the hell did he go?

Sawyer crashed through the foliage, trying to get as far away from the small group as he could. He didn't want them to see him like this… he leaned over a bush, shuddered violently, and threw up.

Claire was exhausted. Her face was red and her hair was plastered to her forehead. But everyone around her could see how happy she was. She was thrilled that everything had gone well, and she now had a beautiful baby boy, safe… _hers_, she thought. _This baby is mine,_ She smiled to herself. _Not some random stranger's. Those are my eyes on his face. That feathery blonde hair is my hair. If the rescue boat came today, and _someone_ wanted to adopt him right now, I would laugh at them. I would turn them down right away without a second thought._ She was amazed and appalled at herself for ever wanting to give him away. So, he was Thomas' child too. So it would be hard being a single parent in the real world. So what? What a coward she had been. How stupid she had been. She had had no idea how beautiful her boy would be. She had had no idea what it would be like to hold him in her arms.

The people around her; Jack, Kate, Shannon and Sun, looked at her and thought they understood. She held the little boy as if he were the world to her, the only thing that mattered. They didn't realize that he wasn't. Because regardless of how ecstatic she was, she was still thinking about Charlie. She was still crying inside that he wasn't here with her, that she had gotten so angry. And on top of that, she had a strange gnawing feeling that something was wrong.

Three men struggled through a dense forest carrying another, nearly dead. It was almost noon, but the sky was darkening. As huge raindrops began dripping onto the faces of our travelers, a mutual fear of failure set into them. They were full of doubt, regret and anger. They wondered if death was around the corner. They wondered if they would stay on the island forever until one by one, they were gone. They wondered why they were here. Why they were on the island. One wondered why he was alive, what the purpose of his existence was. He was sure that nothing good had come of it, and wondered why, then, he was still here. Deep in thought, yet trying to focus on their task of getting back to camp, our travelers were very surprised when Charlie opened his eyes blearily, and though clearly in pain, said in a raspy voice, "What the bloody hell happened?"


	12. Never Letting Go

They almost dropped the table, clearly jolted out of whatever deep thoughts they were thinking. Gently, they lowered whatever Charlie was lying on – _a table?_ – to the muddy ground and looked down at him anxiously. Charlie was suddenly aware that his chest felt as if it here on fire and every time he breathed in, intense pain shot up his body. Nice. He gritted his teeth.

"What happened?" he said again, trying to clear his raspy throat. He felt as if he were being choked. He was reminded unpleasantly of a noose… Ethan… Claire… where was Claire? How long had it been since… whatever had happened?

"You don't remember?" Sayid asked with a small undertone of bitterness under his concern.

"All I remember – " Charlie said, clenching his jaw "-Is that bloody lunatic throwing a hissy fit and now – my chest hurts like a m – "

"You were shot." Sawyer said flatly. "She shot you." His expression confused Charlie. It looked angry, careless and worried all at the same time. Then what he'd said registered into Charlie's mind.

"What?" _She shot me? What? Where? _He tried to sit up and see, but immediately, all went black.

Jack was sitting on the beach having a moment to himself finally. He watched the clouds go by with impressive speed. The wind whipped around him and he felt suddenly cold. Kate appeared before him, smiling broadly. Her eyes were brimming over with bright tears, her face streaked, but still she smiled.

"Why're you crying?" Jack asked, concerned.

"I just missed you so much." Kate said, leaning forward and putting her warm hands on both sides of his face lovingly. But once she touched him, her grin left. She frowned accusingly at him.

"Oh." She said coldly. "I thought you were someone else." She backed away from him as if he had a disease. Jack was bewildered. "What do you mean? Kate…"

"Help!" Kate suddenly screamed at him. "Jack! _Jack!"_

Jack woke with a jump, someone was roughly shaking his shoulders. The real Kate stood before him, panic in her eyes. Jack realized foggily that he'd been dreaming. Still in the confused state of a sleepy child, he said, "What? What's going on?"

"Charlie's hurt. Really bad." Kate said, gasping for breath. "You have to come now."

Jack stared down at the wound on Charlie's chest. There was dried blood everywhere. That was good. That meant the bleeding had stopped. But what… he looked at it intensely… was he mistaken or was this a gunshot wound?

"What happened?" Jack said, his voice deadly calm, looking coldly at Sayid, who stood on the mouth of the cave. Sayid said nothing, his eyes darting around as if he hated to look Jack in the eye.

"What the _hell _happened?" Jack's voice shook slightly with anger. Sayid stepped forward tentatively. "I think you can guess. I went back… with them. I thought if she felt threatened enough…" he stopped, and now looked steadily at Jack.

Jack looked at Sayid, then at Charlie with disbelieving rage. "You're saying you went back to Danielle to find information that would protect us?" He shook his head violently, feeling utterly hopeless. "Sayid, I can't do this. I don't have the proper equipment, I don't have a staff. He's lost a lot of blood." His head started throbbing, and he put his hand to his forehead and squinted. Slowly he lowered it and glared at Sayid, feeling the most hatred he'd ever felt in his life. "You were trying to protect us. Yeah. Sure."

"You as good as killed him." He said almost inaudibly. But he knew Sayid heard.

"You're not going to try and – "

"Of course I'm going to try!" Jack shouted. "But things aren't looking good, okay? Just get out."

He turned back to Charlie, and waited for Sayid to leave.

Jack had to get the bullet out, but losing more blood was potentially fatal to Charlie. He knew he had to get the bullet, but couldn't seem to make himself do it. He stood poised over Charlie, holding a scalpel in one hand. But he couldn't do anything. He wasn't in a hospital, he was in a cave on a deserted island. _There was a slight difference. _He thought bitterly. And then there was the fact that he'd never operated on someone he knew, let alone someone he liked. Let alone someone he knew who had someone else who loved him maybe a hundred feet away.

He couldn't do it.

"Oh, my God."

_Shit._ Probably the least preferred person on the island entered the cave at just that moment. Claire had just rushed in, pale and scared. Tears were already glistening in her eyes as she approached Jack and Charlie.

"Charlie." Claire whispered, horror-struck. She looked up at Jack fearfully. "Was he really shot? Is he going to be okay? Oh, my God." She grasped Charlie's limp hand and closed her eyes.

Jack was about to snap at her to leave, he needed to concentrate, but any frustration died on his lips as he saw her lamenting figure over Charlie.

"You shouldn't be up so soon." He said dumbly instead.

She looked up at him like he was crazy.

Jack rubbed his head again, his headache was turning into a migraine. Not the best working conditions. "You can't say a word." He said. _Was he telling her she could stay through the surgery? No! _But he heard himself say firmly, as if he let this happen all the time, "You can't distract me at all."

Claire nodded bravely.

And Jack made the first incision.

She was probably breaking every bone in his hand. She loosened her grip a little. She looked at Jack for a moment. She saw blood and a little knife. She quickly focused back on Charlie's face. She felt like she was going to throw up. _Charlie. Don't die. I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. I was just so afraid of being left out in the cold again. I'm protective of myself now. But now I see how much worse it could be. Even if you hurt me. Don't die. I need you more than I've ever needed anyone. I don't know what I would do. Charlie. Don't die._

It was oddly comforting to have Claire with him as he performed the surgery. He didn't know why, but her presence made him less nervous. The bullet was almost out… He couldn't believe it. It was over. It had gone well. He pressed a bandage over the wound. He'd done it. No staff, no hospital. He managed a weak smile. Success. The rest was up to Charlie.

A couple of hours later, Claire still sat beside Charlie. She refused to move. Softly she whispered fears and promises. Her shaking hand was interlaced with Charlie's and she would not let go. She watched his expressionless face.

Slowly his eyes opened and he looked surprised and confused. Claire let out a gasp of happiness.

"Charlie!"

"Claire! Where the heck's your stomach?"

Claire smiled through salty tears. "Are you calling me fat?" she joked as she held his hand so thightly that he winced a little. But she refused to let go.


	13. In the End

Charlie was leaning against the cave wall in a somewhat upright position. He was able to sit now, if awkwardly hunched over a little. It hurt too much to sit straight. It had been three days in the cave without leaving and he was more bored than pained. He would go crazy if not for all the visitors. Jack checked on him regularly, but usually stayed just to talk for a few minutes afterwards. Locke came bearing words of wisdom that he never understood. Kate tried to bring things to entertain him. She stole a couple of things from Sawyer's tent. "Taste of his own medicine." She said slyly as she dumped a couple of books, a tennis ball and an old newspaper at his feet. Then of course Claire was with him nearly all the time… Claire and Willie. Charlie hadn't particularly liked babies very much before; they were always crying or needing to be changed or something. But Willie was sweet and quiet. Somehow Charlie thought he'd like Willie even if he was the noisiest kid he'd ever laid eyes on.

He was startled out of his thoughts when someone came into the cave. Against the bright light of outside, it took Charlie a moment to see who it was. It was… Sawyer. What was Sawyer doing here? Claire had told him that Sawyer had barely been seen since the mission. He skulked around on the beach in a foul mood, but most of the time, he was off in the forest by himself. Something was up, but know one could figure out what exactly.

"Er, Hello." Charlie said, trying to keep the surprised and puzzled tone out of his voice.

Sawyer looked at Charlie with a hard, protective look in his eyes. After a moment of silence, Sawyer cleared his throat awkwardly. "I came up to the caves for some water." He said finally.

It dawned on Charlie all of a sudden. _Sawyer was guilty, he held himself accountable for Danielle shooting him._ Who'd have thought it? Sawyer, with a conscience? Charlie mused secretly, but keeping a straight face.

Sawyer scuffed the dirt floor with his shoes. "Feeling better?" he managed.

"Yeah. A lot, actually." Charlie answered as reassuringly as possible.

"Well. That's good." Sawyer looked furious at himself for acting so embarrassed. "Well." He said again. He pointed behind him with his thumb. "The… water…" and he backed out of the cave.

Claire entered as he left and she waved cheerfully at him.

She sat down next to Charlie, holding the ever-present Willie in her arms. He was asleep against her shoulder, and she rubbed his back absent-mindedly.

"Guess what?" Claire said excitedly, interlacing fingers with Charlie's.

"Huh?"

"Locke's making you crutches, and Jack said you could walk around with them when they're finished!"

"Thank God! I'm going loopy just sitting here." He said, grinning at her. Looking at him, Claire's eyes filled up suddenly with tears.

"What? What is it?" he said, alarmed.

Claire shook her head. "Nothing. It's nothing. I'm just… so glad you're okay." She wiped her eyes quickly. "I don't know what I would have done. To have lost everything…" she trailed away, unable to put into word what was whirling around in her mind.

Charlie put his arm around her, and held her in a loving embrace for a long time, knowing that not saying anything at that moment was saying everything.

* * *

Kate stood in the water, the waves rolling past her ankles. It soothed her to no end to feel the fine sand under her feet and the cool ocean coming back and forth with a soft white spray. She looked across the horizon. The sky was pink and orange. It looked like one of those abstract paintings where all the paint was just splashed across a canvas.

With a jump, she realized that Jack was next to her.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked quietly.

"Paint." She answered simply, not explaining because she didn't want to sound sappy. She abruptly turned to him. "Jack. I miss you… so much. I know…" she faltered, then continued. "I know I haven't treated you right, God, I know that, I mean, you have a right to… hate me I know, but… but… can't we just talk again? Just… talk?"

And Jack smiled a little. He put his hands in his pockets and nodded slightly.

"Yeah. Let's talk."

* * *

Michael and Walt were playing frisbee as the dog jumped back and forth between them, and Walt laughed.

Shannon sat beside Sayid, conversing about nothing in particular. Boone tentatively came near and joined them.

Sun leaned against a tree, watching Jin as he fished. Slowly he turned and saw her. He nodded to her in acknowledgment, and she lifted a hand in greeting.

Sawyer sat in his tent, lighting a cigarette and brooding. He tried to find the book he had been reading earlier, but it wasn't anywhere in the tent.

Locke lifted up the crutches he had spent all day making. They were finished. Now, what to make next?

Hurley grinned mischievously. He knew Sawyer would have batteries in his tent somewhere. He ambled off to get his CD player.

Kate and Jack sat on the beach, laughing and smiling at each other for the first time in days.

Claire was asleep in Charlie's arms. He looked down at her, and at Willie and smiled to himself.

* * *

It was dark in Danielle's home. A single candle burned on the floor. She sat cross-legged in front of the candle, muttering angrily to herself. She held fistfuls of scrolls and maps and papers. There were others littered around her.

"Sayid… I spent years… there was an order… to all these sheets… important information… I will never be able to…" she growled savagely in frustration. Then her head snapped up. Had she heard an knock at the trap door? There it was again… she jumped up and strode across the underground room. She threw open the door, not in anger but in greedy anticipation. She knew who knocked on her door so late at night…

A figure stepped down into the dimly lit room. He looked around, surveying the mess.

"Tell me what happened." He said in a calm, cold voice.

Danielle smiled an evil, malicious smile.

"Welcome back, Ethan."

**FIN**

* * *

A/N Yes, that is the end. Aren't I evil? Hee hee. I'm quite proud of how it turned out myself. I originally had Ethan dying at the end, but after the episode when Charlie killed him, I thought… hhmmmmmm what if… and thought this worked much better.

Anyway, thank you all so much for all your reviews, I got so many more than I thought I would. I appreciated every single one of them!


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